Grace To Captain Connacht Eagles

This weekend is an historic one for Connacht Rugby as the westerners send two teams into European rugby terrain.

While the senior squad are en route to Parma to take on Zebre in round 1 of the Heineken Cup, the Connacht Eagles will face Newport in their inaugural match in the British & Irish Cup.

This year, the British & Irish Cup has been expanded to 32 teams (from 24) and sees the first involvement of the western province.

Head coach Nigel Carolan has named his side that will travel to Rodney Parade in Wales for the opening encounter in Pool 4 (kick-off 2.30pm).

The Connacht Eagles team for this weekend contains some well-known names in the starting line-up. Conor Finn was part of the Ireland Under-20 team that finished fifth in the IRB Junior World Championship in June.

He is joined in the centre by Tadhg Leader who is in year 2 of the Connacht Academy. Matt Healy, who this season joined the province from Lansdowne, starts on the wing along with the 22-year-old James Loxton who played with the senior team in Glasgow last month in the RaboDirect PRO12.

Scrum half Marcus Walsh played with the Connacht Under-20s last season and was recently contracted to the Connacht Academy.

Flanker and former Munster Academy Player of the Year, Eoghan Grace, will captain the side. Grace joined Connacht last season from Exeter Chiefs and was a member of the Ireland Sevens side that travelled to the 2009 World Cup Sevens in Dubai.

The Eagles captain is joined in the back row by Dave Heffernan who is a former Ireland Under-20 International. Heffernan made his senior debut against the Scarlets last season.

The 20-year-old Jonathan Gardiner will start at number 8. Originally from Wales but with Irish parents, Gardiner joined the Connacht Academy during the summer.

Following this weekend's pool opener, Connacht Eagles will welcome Newcastle Falcons to Dubarry Park on Friday week (October 19). Kick-off for that game is at 7.45pm and Connacht Rugby season ticket holders are granted access to all of the Eagles' home British & Irish Cup fixtures.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.